Comparison of the effect of Healon vs. Viscoat on endothelial cell count after phacoemulsification and posterior chamber lens implantation.

To evaluate the protective effect of 1% sodium hyaluronate (Healon) vs. a mixture of 4% chondroitin sulfate and 3% sodium hyaluronate (Viscoat) on the central corneal endothelium during surgery, we prospectively examined 20 eyes of 20 patients who underwent clear corneal phacoemulsification and implantation of an intracapsular posterior chamber intraocular lens (PC-IOL) with either Healon (10 eyes) or a combined use of Viscoat and Healon (10 eyes) as viscoelastic material. We compared the central endothelial cell counts, recorded by specular microscopy, preoperatively and 6 weeks postoperatively. Our results suggest that Viscoat offers no significant better endothelial cell protection during phacoemulsification than Healon.